She's leaving home
by hooligans in hoolahoops
Summary: She needed to get out. She just didn't know it yet. But help can sometimes comes from unexpected places, or people. Rated T for slight language. OC, but no OC pairings. Maybe slight character pairings
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"LAND HOOOOOO!"

"An island? An island? YAHOOOO!" shouted Luffy. He and the rest of the crew were just finishing up breakfast after the call from Usopp came from the crow's nest. He immediately ran outside and grabbed the head of the sunny, flinging himself into his favorite spot so he could see the island coming into view, as the rest of his crew slowly joined him.

"Oh! They have a beach!" Usopp yelled down.

"A beach?! Does that mean I get to see Nami-san and Robin-chwan in their bathing suits? Ah, I can just picture my beautiful angels in their sexy swimwear now…"Sanji was interrupted by Nami's punch to the head and a resounding BONK, then he collapsed with a huge bump and gushing nosebleed. "A beach does sound nice though Nami," Robin offered with a slight giggle after observing Nami's display. "Yeah, you're right, we just need to get a _private_ section!"

* * *

"Oi Nami why do I get so little cash?!" Luffy whined. The nine crew members were gathered right outside their boat in the island's main port. To their right was the start of the beach. Right in front of them were many streets filled with apartments with various terraces peeking out, each decorated slightly differently.

"Because if I gave you any more we wouldn't have enough to restock for supplies. And because the only reason we're short right now is because you had to eat almost our entire supply at the party a couple nights ago!" _You'd think that he'd remember eating until he was the size of a small battleship! Then again, this is Luffy we're talking about._

"Ja, Robin and I are going to do a little shopping before we head over to the beach. We'll meet you guys there, OK?"

"Can I come too please?" Chopper asked. It had become almost an unofficial rule that Chopper went with the two girls. "Of course Chopper. Let's go!" The three of them left the boys and started down one of the streets to their right. That left the six of them to decide amongst themselves how their afternoon would pan out.

"I'm going to look at the swords here so-" Zoro said until,

"HOLD IT HOLD IT HOLD IT! If we let you wander around by yourself we'll never see you again." Usopp was right on the mark with that one. "Yohohoho! That's definitely true!" Brook was obviously amused. Luffy was laughing his head off too. Zoro, now very embarrassed, could only yell at the others to shut up as his face gradually got darker shades of red.

"Sanji, you have to go get food, but Luffy probably shouldn't go with you or he'll clean out the whole store. Zoro wants to go look for swords, but he can't be left by himself, so Luffy, Brook and Franky, you guys can take a look around. Sanji and I will stock up on supplies and keep Zoro-kun out of trouble!" Ussop said very sogeking-ish. The two groups agreed to meet at the beach once they all finished up. They then each set off, with Luffy and his group following the same route as Nami, and Sanji's group going in the street straight ahead.

They hadn't even walked fifty yards before the arguing started. "WHY DO I HAVE TO STAY WITH YOU PERVY-CURLS?!" "THAT'S WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY MARIMO! WHY CAN'T YOU HAVE A NORMAL SENSO OF DIRECTION?" And then of course, fists started flying and they got into a dust cloud fight with the occasional head or foot popping out. _Well there goes my well-thought out ingenious plan_, Usopp thought to himself. He didn't dare speak it out loud, because the result would be the same fists thrown in his direction. Instead, he continued walking right past them, and went into a narrow passageway "You guys you have to see this!" Ussop called from ahead of them. He had reached the end of the street, and when Zoro and Sanji caught up to him they shared in the view. They had reached what seemed to be a crossroads for all the streets they saw earlier. The town was set up that all the streets circled around a big plaza with a huge, gorgeous fountain in the center. There were public benches and flower planters around it, making for an overall beautiful and peaceful environment. Directly on the other side were similar looking roads, except for one major difference. They were overloading with stands and tents selling anything and everything you could imagine.

Sitting on the ledge of the fountain was a young girl. She had on a short, flowing dress with a light green bodice and navy blue skirt complete with a matching navy bow in between the two. On her head was a woven hat with a large rim, and a pretty red bow. The hat was gently blowing back from the wind along with her big poofy light blonde hair, with soft waves that extended all the way down her back. _Eggs, milk, honey, flowers for the table…seems I've gotten everything I needed for today and it's not even noon! What wonders shall I entertain myself with now?_ As she pondered she dipped her toes into the fountain and started splashing the rim of the water, giggling to herself as the sun shone down on her back.

"Meshi! Meshi! I want to eat some~thing!" Luffy sang as he strode into the open area, with Brook and Franky right behind him. "I wouldn't mind stopping for a cup of tea myself." Brook added, "And I need some more COOOOLLLLLLLLLAAA!" Franky sang-shouted, rolling his tongue for extra effect. "Could they _be_ any more loud?" Zoro grunted. He noticed the group walking in from an entrance to their far right. "OOOOiiii! Zoro! Sanji! Usopp! Haha, looks like we met up again! OOOiii!" "Why couldn't I have met up with Nami-swan and Robin-chwan instead?!" "Yo Luffy! I guess we're sticking together now, huh?" Usopp said. And with that, the six most rambunctious and crazy members of the Mugiwara crew set off for the bazaar.

_Who the hell is making that kind of noise here? _(It's common knowledge that in the plaza you don't disturb others in any way, shape, or form. As the crowning achievement of the island, the citizens feel it should represent their community in a dignified, nuisance-free manner.) The young girl tilted her head backwards and saw an upside down group of rag-tag men, and, _is that a skeleton? _Suddenly however, her hat flew off her head, and landed straight by the feet of a blonde-haired man, who was trailing behind the rest of his friends.

"Huh?" A hat just randomly appeared by Sanji's feet, so he picked it up. _Whose is this? _Then, a girl with wet feet and no shoes on came running towards the group.

"AH! Gomen gomen! That's mine!" she said, and took her hat back, right out of Sanji's hands, might I add. "The wind sure is busy today, huh?" she said with a laugh. "By the way, you guys haven't been here before, have you?"

"Haha, is it that hard to tell?"

"All that for a bottle of cola?! That's SUPER way too expensive!" yelled Franky from one of the first stands in the marketplace straight ahead of Sanji. Both he and the girl looked up.

The rest of the boys came back to where Sanji was. Franky and Brook were both pissed, Luffy was even more hungry, and Zoro getting a little touchy that he isn't allowed to just go look at swords by himself.

She smiled and said, "Definitely! You stick out like a sore thumb! What are a bunch of pirates like you doing here anyways?"

"Huh? Who's this little kid Sanji" Luffy asked, obviously curious.

"How did you know we were pirates?" Sanji replied.

Another grin. "This city is mostly for commercial purposes, so there aren't a lot of people living here, and everyone who does knows each other. Most of the people who visit are marines looking to stock up on supplies, since we're the last port before a main training camp. So, we know most of the marines who come here too. Everyone else is just assumed to be a pirate, unless proved otherwise. And everyone else is treated like a pirate too."

"What do you mean?"

She continued on. "Well, since we do so much business with the marines, we want to keep everything to their liking. Hostility towards pirates, polite conduct, so on and so forth. All the kids here are taught that the best thing you could ever do is become a great marine!" _Blah blah blah, _she kept to herself.

"Did everyone know we're pirates, and that's why the prices are so jacked up?" Franky spit out

"Haha! No, that just how things are around here. The one thing the people love more than the marines is money, but we need to keep steady revenue from the marines, so they get discount prices from the stands in the back of the market, and that's where they know to head for. All the vendors in the back of the market have low prices, but then they get their turn to be in the front, where they can jack up prices for anyone else who's shopping, and make more cash. Of course, as policy, if you think someone's a pirate and they're shopping in the back, you just jack up your prices on the spot." That same big grin was starting to fade from her face.

"Tch. We picked the wrong place to dock, didn't we Luffy," said Zoro. _What a messed up place._

"I'm HUUUUNNNNGGGRRYYYYY!" was all he had to say back.

"If you want to have a fair chance at fair prices, all you need to do is be confident, demanding, and don't look like a pirate when you go shopping. So basically, that rules out you, you, you, you, you, and, yeah probably you too," she said, pointing to everyone but Sanji. "If you'd like, I can show you some good places to pick up delicious food," she offered.

"Thanks, I think I'll take you up on your offer. Alright you shitheads, I'll be sure to bring you back something good, so just stay here." Sanji said as he started walking with his new guide.

"Wait a damn second. I don't care about prices, if there's a good sword I'm getting it. I'm coming too." Zoro obviously was reaching the end of his patience.

"Ok! But if you eat all the food I'm going to kick you asses!" Luffy shouted at them as they started to walk back towards the market.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU DO EVERY SINGLE MEAL!" Zoro and Sanji shouted back at him in unison. To the young girl, it somehow seemed that their heads doubled in size as they looked back at that man. She giggled again. _What a fun group!_

"By the way you guys, my names Lëna!" And with that, a party of three was made.

**That's the end of the first chapter! What do you think so far? I'd love reviews to see how I can make it better! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys! I'm glad I've already gotten so many views. This is my first story, so if you don't mind I would also like some reviews as well. Anyways from now on I'm going to be typing Lena, even though it is still pronounced as Lëna. **

***Note-according to google translate straw sandals is waraji in japanese**

**Chapter 2**

Lena's feet were starting to get dirty, but she didn't mind.

Sanji was on rapid fire question duty. "So Lena-chan, how old are you?"

"Fourteen"

"What is such a cutie doing in this busy pace by herself?"

"Running errands for my mom." _Which I hope your friends are watching by the way!_ Lena was so excited to show off in front of her new companions that she completely forgot her stuff by the fountain, but her pride wasn't letting her admit it

"Your mom? I bet she's a total cutie too!"

Lena stopped in her tracks, and held out her hand to signal Zoro and Sanji to do as well. She seemed like she was about to say something in return. When she lifted her head, and quickly drew back her hand. "Uh…sorry that was, um, s-sorry about that I don't know why I just did that" She quickly said with a fake laugh.

"Is your mom…ok Lena-chan?"

"What? Oh yeah, no of course! She's fine. She's at home right now, today's her day off which means it's my day to get groceries and things like that. She's a bartender at the local pub and inn." With that, she started walking again.

"She really is a cutie! Everybody thinks so, she's wildly popular among the men here. She um…-" Lena was cut off.

"I hope you're not taking us to the marines." Zoro suddenly spoke up, surprising the other two. He had been silent up until that point, but apparently he was still intently listening.

"Oi Marimo-yaro! How dare you accuse Lena-chan like that?! I'll beat you to a fucking pulp!"

Sanji was only stopped by Lena's words, which were loud and forced, signalling them to stop.

"Why am I…haha I guess it's pretty weird, after what I've told you guys about this city and all." She looked down and the rim of her hat covered her eyes in shadow. Her voice quavered at the end. Her outburst was more spur of the moment than anything. Something inside didn't want to see them fight.

_You were so energetic to tell us about all the bad things, why the sudden change?_ Zoro thought to himself.

"I know I'm not very old yet, but I can tell. I don't agree with this place. There are bad pirates just like there are good ones. And the same goes with the Marines. People here like to keep up the façade that it's just a one way street with bad pirates and good marines, but I…I know better." Lena told them. I_ pretty damn well should._

"Your mom feels the same way, doesn't she? But you don't tell people that because she has a reputation to uphold." Zoro persisted.

"Nope. My mom is just a run of the mill woman in that respect. She would honestly make a good marine from her ethics alone. I'm sorry for not being straight with you about that kind of stuff, it's just kind of _personal_." Lena looked Zoro straight in the eyes. It was a kind of look that said, _what would you know?_

Lena jumped ahead of the two now very surprised men, and put on her seemingly trademark big grin. "A-anyways, here we are! The best ramen shack in the city!" The scent coming from that place was incredible Sanji and Zoro ordered enough ramen to feed the entire market, but when the three of them got back to the plaza with their waiting nakama, it was distributed one for everyone, and the rest for Luffy.

"YOSHA! I love Ramen!" Luffy yelled in excitement, although honestly it was pretty obvious, he was tearing through three bowls per minute.

"Glad I could be of service!" This time Lena's smile was truly sincere, and it made Sanji relax a little. _What the hell was that Marimo bastard thinking?_

To Lena's relief, all her stuff was still there. She put her shoes back on, picked up the two bags, and walked over to the chow-fest to say her goodbyes. "Zoro-san! Sanji-san! It's been awesome! Skeleton-san! Long-nose-san, Blue-hair-san, waraji-san, I hope you guys like the ramen, it's a town favorite! "It's Delicio-eh? Waraji-san?" Luffy said, with noodles spraying out of his mouth. Lena started to laugh and continued on, "Of course! I love your straw sandals! The hat is cool too, but it's obvious that the sandals are your signature look. They're very old-timey, really cool!" Lena said with a wink! She prided herself in her deductions. "Hahaha! You're really funny, I like you!" Luffy exclaimed. Lena smiled back at him, then she started to leave. "EHHH? You're not leaving now are you? Hold on a second!" Luffy stretched his arm to where Lena was, now twenty yards ahead of him. _What the…hell?!_ Lena was shocked to see a hand grabbing on to her arm. It was…waraji's hand?! "Lena! Don't go yet! Come to the beach with us!" He was shouting to her. _An arm can't just stretch this long. It can't. That's not how things work. I must be really dehydrated, and I mean I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. That must be it…I'm imagining this! _Luffy then flew over to where his arm was leading him. _This can't be real!_ Lena was getting even more afraid, and she started shaking. "W-waraji-san. Would you please let go of my arm? I think I need t-to go sit down." Luffy then started laughing, and Lena noticed that the rest of his friends were laughing as well. "There's no need to worry! I'm a gomu-human! I ate the gomu-gomu devil fruit!" "Devil fruit…don't be silly there's no such things as-"Lena started to say, before Luffy once again stretched his arm back, grabbed his ramen bowl, and then brought it back over to himself. He-started slurping away right in front of her. Then it was Lena who started laughing, nervously at first, but then more comfortably. A gomu-human, huh? I really think fate is on my side today waraji-san! I've never met a funnier bunch than you guys!" "Nihihi! Arigato!"

Luffy laughed too. "Lena! You just have to come to the beach with us! I want you to meet the rest of my crew!"

"_Your _crew?"

"That's right! I'm the pirate captain Monkey D. Luffy!"  
"Luffy-san, huh. I think I prefer waraji-captain-san." Lena's grin matched Luffy's in both size and enthusiasm.

"Sounds great!" She said happily!

A parade of four men, one cyborg, one skeleton, and one little girl marched down a narrow street and came to the entrance of a magnificent beach. There were umbrellas everywhere, the water was full of people, and everywhere you looked there were gorgeous girls in bathing suits, much to Sanji's pleasure. They entered the beach full of toys and equipment to last them for the entire day. "OOOiii! Nami! Robin! Chopper! Where are you?" it took them ten minutes to find their other friends, but it was definitely worth it. They had found an amazing spot on the beach right in front of some rocks in the ocean that made the waves crash and spray all over the place. The sun was shining but it wasn't too hot; truly a wonderful day to be alive, and ten certain people were soaking it all up.

Nami and Robin, as promised, spent a large portion of the day sunbathing, both were reading a book. Robin's was a new one about the local history of the island, and Nami was studying some old maps. Franky was having a ball playing with Usopp and Chopper in the water, the two men always making sure Chopper didn't fall in. Luffy was building a sand castle since he also couldn't get wet, Zoro was getting in some beach training by slicing up the boulders in the water, and Sanji was making use of one of the public barbeques and making everyone some snacks. Lena was sitting next to Nami and Robin, watching everyone else enjoy their little vacation. She had just been introduced to the rest of the guys, the two ladies and the reindeer, and she couldn't help but wear that same big smile on her face. For the first time in a while, she felt…different. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about this bunch of people gave her a feeling that made her…content. Content that she had lived the life she has lived so far, because it has led her to this exact moment.

"What are you thinking about, Lena-chan?"

"Sanji-san! You scared me! What am I thinking about? I'm not thinking about anything really." She looked at him from under the same big hat with a red bow. "I'm just happy to be here!"

The look in Lena's eyes was different from what Sanji had seen all day. _We're doing something good for this girl, right?_ "Can't argue with that," he said. He then went on and gave Nami and Robin two delicious looking hot dogs, before calling to the rest of the crew, "Oi Shitheads! Food!"

**Thanks for reading! I know it's still going slowly, but don't worry. This is where it starts picking up!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! One of the only good things about being home sick from school is that I get to publish a brand spanking new chapter for you guys! And now the story is really starting :D I hope you enjoy, and again I would extremely appreciate feedback!**

**Chapter 3**

"_You have a real pirate ship?!" Lena decided to join Franky, Chopper and Usopp in the water._

"_Of course we do, I built it myself!" _

"_It's a hell of a ship too!" Usopp added, "We've got huge sails, a lawn deck, and in the rear there's a giant cannon!"_

"_You've got to let me come see it!" Lena's eyes were brimming with excitement._

Sanji was leaning on the rail of the Sunny, recalling the conversation that took place over an hour ago. _She should be here by now._

"Lena-chan sure is taking her sweet time." "Definitely, did she ditch us?" He heard some of the others talking on the deck, where they were relaxing before dinner.

_It was starting to get colder, so the Mugiwara Pirates decided to pack up and head back for the Sunny. They had fully restocked and spent a wonderful day at the beach. Now it was time to head off. "If you guys are headed in that direction, then you must be docked at the main port." Lena called over to them, "I'm gonna run home, drop my stuff off and change. I'll meet you there!" With that she took off running in the opposite direction in her bathing suit, with her dress, groceries, and once again, shoes in hand._

"Leave it be, Cook." The swordsman's sudden remark snapped Sanji out of his daydream.

"What are you talking about?"

"We shouldn't have asked Lena to come along with us. She told us this city hates pirates, didn't she? This is a good opportunity to let her escape."

Sanji lit a cigarette, took a long drag, then blew the smoke out towards the sky. He noticed the sun was starting to set. "Lena-chan, she…never looked happier than she did sitting on the beach with us. I'm not about to take that away from a lady."

"Then why isn't she here thanking you?"

With that, Sanji jumped over the railing, and set off in the same route Lena had taken earlier.

"That baka!" Zoro quickly muttered to himself, before jumping down off the Sunny and following Sanji's trail. Nami came out of her cabin just in time to see the end of Zoro's robe going off the railing, and she immediately ran up to see what was going on.

"Zoro, and is that Sanji? Where are you two going? We're about to shove off!" she yelled down to them, but they were both out of sight before either could respond.

Zoro was running around like crazy trying to find Sanji again. He got into the plaza with no sign of him, so he decided to try the street to his far left. Directly to his right, Sanji was ferociously searching for Lena. All together they covered almost all the streets, yet somehow they never managed to find each other, or Lena. Time was passing quickly, and soon a half an hour had gone by.

Sanji turned into the last street. You couldn't tell from the entrance in the plaza, but halfway through the road starting going uphill and widened out. It lead away from the more affluent part of town, and into the more humble parts, with houses more spread apart and significantly smaller. _I guess it's easy to hate such a superficial place when you're living out here,_ he remarked. Before totally exiting the district, he turned onto a final side-street, then into an ally way. _Shit, it's getting really dark._ The entire passage was covered in shadow.

"LENA! OII! YOU HERE? LENA?!" he called for the six billionth time.

Once again, no response.

_Still no sign of her! _

Sanji stepped on something wet, but thicker than water.

As the first beams of moonlight shone down upon the ally, Sanji saw what he has refused to acknowledge as a possibility up until that moment. He kept pushing the thoughts into the back of his mind, lying to himself that there was no way it could happen, but all at once they resurfaced, seeking vengeance by torturing and taunting him.

There on the ground laid Lena, a big wound on her head still bleeding profoundly.

"aaahh….aaahh..Lena…chan..?"

Then it clicked.

He ran as as fast as he could over to her, and kneeled down in a pool of blood. "Oi Lena-chan! Who did this to you! Oi! Say something! Lena-chan!" He held her body in his arms, but there was no response.

Unbeknownst to Sanji, Zoro just ran by the alley. He took a double-take, then ran back. "Cook? Oi Sanji! Did you find her?" he noticed the man's body was hunched over, but he couldn't see what was in front of him.

Sanji looked up. The next events appeared to happen to Zoro in slow motion. First, Sanji turned around, his eyes glaring, full of anger and confusion. "WE HAVE TO GO GET HELP!" He screamed, then he sprinted past Zoro. Zoro only got a glimpse of the next image, but it was all he needed. He saw an unconscious Lena in his nakama's arms, and blood running down his suit. _FUCK! _He took off running after him.

Sanji only noticed then how delicate Lena's body was. She wasn't too short for her age, but she was extremely light and thin. _My fault…my fault...! Goddamit this is all my fault!_

Somehow Sanji lead himself and Zoro back to the Sunny, and with one giant leap they both landed hard on the grass lawn.

"WHERE THE HELL IS CHOPPER? OI CHOPPER! I NEED YOUR HELP! LENA, LENA, SHE'S…SHE'S REALLY BADLY HURT!" Yelled Sanji in despair.

The entire crew ran out to see what was going on. The looks of horrification spread in a wave from face to face.

"Move, move! Let me see her!" Chopper was having a hard time, but he pushed through the crowd with his lab coat on and medical bag in arm. "This is terrible, bring her inside!" he ordered. He and Sanji then ran into the ship's medical room, where Sanji placed a still unresponsive Lena on one of the tables. "Lena, Lena! Can you hear me" Chopper tried to get some kind of reaction, but it was futile. He shone a light in her eyes, and only then was there a slight change. He then made his way to addressing the main wound. "U-umm is there any way you need to me to help?" Sanji tried to offer, but Chopper, now transformed into his bulkiest form, pushed him out of the room and said, "Just let me handle this!" before he slammed the door behind him. Sanji felt his legs go weak, and fell back against the door, sliding down it until he was sitting on the ground with his head in his hands. He noticed that to his right, Nami was crying and Robin was trying to comfort her. Nami's sobs were the only thing breaking the deathly silence, until Luffy started shouting. "Oi Sanji, Zoro what the hell happened?!" He too was still in shock and didn't fully grasp why Lena was suddenly in the medical room with Chopper.

"I don't know." Sanji whispered. It was all he could muster. Zoro didn't say a word. He chose instead to keep looking out the window.

"What do you mean you don't know? What the hell happened to Lena!?"

"I SAID I DON'T FUCKING KNOW YOU PIECE OF-"By this time Sanji was gripping Luffy's collar, ready to do some serious damage, but he stopped himself before he went on. He left the rest of his crew in bewilderment, and went back outside. He tried to light another cigarette, but his hands were shaking too much. His lighter and pack then hit the ground. Hard.

_Shit. "_**SHIT!**"


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello my beloved readers! I'm sorry this chapter has taken longer than usual, but to make up for it it's almost three times as long as the previous ones! I like this length. The next chapters are going to be this long. Anyways, as always, please enjoy! And if you like it, please PLEASE follow/favorite and/or review!**

**Also, I think i should probably jump on the bandwagon for this one. If you couldn't already tell, I don't own One Piece.**

**Chapter 4**

It was pitch black. That was the first thing Lena noticed. The darkness surrounded her on all sides, rendering any kind of sight useless. She knew she was alone. She also knew she couldn't stay in the same place anymore, or the eerie aura that she felt would become would totally consume her. None of this was spoken, she just came to that fact. But it was undoubtable. A weird, absolute feeling.

She was lying down, that was the second thing. Her legs felt heavy, and she struggled to regain her posture. Once totally upright, which took longer than usual to achieve, she started walking.

How long she kept at it was totally beyond Lena. All she knew was that she kept walking in what seemed to be an endless straight line, yet no added fatigue came. Just the initial drowsiness, as if she was constantly in a trance, blurring her sense of reality. Or was it heightened, now that nothing seemed real at all?

Suddenly, a trickle of noises reached her ears. It was dull, and she couldn't make out any specific words, and she couldn't tell how many sources it came from. She found it strange that she couldn't find herself able to walk any further. She tried and tried to take just one step, but the imaginary force wouldn't let her budge an inch. The sounds were growing louder and louder until Lena started to worry. She tried even harder to move, and her attempts became desperate. She wanted to run away from the noises, as if they were there to harm her.

Then, all at once, the noise became monstrously loud. Lena could feel its presence right on stop of her, suffocating her. It made it hard to breathe, and slowly she fell to her knees. She could make out every single word of every single sound as they simultaneously converged and clashed with each other, overloading her senses. It was truly hell. Something inside Lena put her hands up to her ears, scrunching her hair in frustration and agony. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. She fell to one side and brought her knees to her chest, finally surrendering herself to the terrible agony. The chaos was unrelenting. She could feel her tears dripping down her face, falling off her nose. She stayed frozen there, at the mercy of the noises. She didn't even try to get up anymore. Lena let the horrific sounds beat down on her for what seemed to be hours on end.

* * *

Zoro sat by the bed where Lena was still sleeping. It had been four days since Sanji found her knocked out in the alley way, and most of the crew besides those two had settled back into their normal routines. Nami was constantly on the lookout in a change on the log pose so she could locate their next island. Zoro remembered the trouble everyone had gone through because of that.

_It was the morning after Lena was found, and her hometown was already way, way out of sight._

"_Ne Luffy, shouldn't we be returning Lena after she wakes up? I bet she's going to be a little surprised. We need to turn the ship around…" Usopp said almost half-heartedly. Anything about Lena at that point was taboo for the guys. "You're right! Crap! I hadn't even thought of that! Oi Franky!-"Luffy was interrupted by a punch on the head that sent him falling to the ground in an instant, along with Usopp. "You idiots! We can't take Lena back there now! She's obviously in danger!" Nami yelled at them through fanged teeth. _

Zoro clenched his teeth and smashed his fist against the table by Lena's bed. _It's our god damn faults! I should have realized that!_ He cursed his own weakness again. He turned himself to face Lena. He looked at her delicate figure, how her arms were placed neatly above the sheets, and the extensive bandaging that she had above her face. Her entire crown was covered in a wrap that went all the way around her head and under her bangs. It was covering the stiches that Chopper put in where her injury had occurred on the back of her head. The process had taken hours, and she often needed her bandages changed, which he hated seeing. He was only there to see Chopper change them once, since Sanji was with Lena the majority of the time, and he never felt like sharing time with him. Chopper moved with extensive care not to hurt her, but he could see how her face tensed in the pain. _She's got a serious concussion_ He remembered him saying to everyone. _A huge blow to the back of the head cracked her skull. It's all patched up now, but it's going to take a long time to fully recover. Plus, everyone takes head injuries a little differently. I don't know how much her motor functions and things like that are going to be affected._ He cursed himself for not being able to help her, _again. _He sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair. Even now, despite all that had happened, she was sleeping soundly as always, making no sounds, and keeping that same peaceful expression.

But then Lena's eyes shot open. Zoro was caught totally off guard, and I swear he almost fell out of his chair! He immediately flashed a big smile and wanted to yell for everyone to come down here, _Look Lena's finally awake!_ But, he didn't. He didn't move a muscle, except to keep him in his seat. Something was...off. Lena's eyes kept looking straight forward, and there was an undeniable emotion behind them. Fear. "… L-" Zoro was about to say something, when he heard tiny voice that shocked him. "Zoro?" Lena had turned to look at him. Her eyes seemed back to normal. "Lena!" He didn't wear the same warm expression, but soon he relaxed. He didn't let that initial worry leave his mind, but he focused on his relief and excitement that Lena was finally coming around for the time being. "Lena!" he repeated himself. "I'm so glad you're finally awake! How are you feeling?" "Zoro…I'm really sorry," Lena said in a very quiet voice. Her faced looked genuinely concerned. Zoro expected her to put on her famous comical grin and say something more along the lines of _are you kidding? I'm feeling better than ever! I just needed a little nap!_ This drastic change in attitude left him a little speechless, and worried again. She continued on. "I didn't show you any places to look for swords." She started to pout, and looked up at him apologetically. Zoro was utterly dumbfounded, but he pulled through and managed to smirk. "Of all the things to say when you wake up!" he said with a laugh. Lena matched his shocked expression for a moment, then just smiled sheepishly.

It didn't take long for the rest of the Mugiwara crew to come barreling down the stairs to the medical room. Zoro left mere seconds earlier to go tell the rest of them, and the news had instantaneous results. "Lena!" Luffy was the first to run in, with the rest of his crew tailing behind him. Being able to stretch yourself to the bottom of the stairs in a heartbeat really came in handy in these situations. "Are you all better now?" He asked her with a huge grin on his face. "LENA-CHAAAN! I WAS SO WORRIED!" Sanji wailed with a waterfall of tears running down his cheeks. The rest of the crew were all trying to get their sentiments in as well. It was a mixture of "Lena!" "How are you feeling?" "Are you ok?" "I was so worried you weren't going to wake up!" and things of the sort. Lena was totally unprepared for such a spectacle, and it was extremely overwhelming. The noise in the room was unmistakably growing louder and louder and pounding on her ears. She felt each individual's presence magnify, and crush her. Before she could even try to make sense of the scene, another throbbing pain, this one much worse, appeared out of nowhere in her head. "Gh!" she blurted out, and couldn't help but bring her hands up to her head in pain. That shut everybody up.

"Oi Lena, are you ok? Oi!" Luffy asked her with a serious tone of panic in his voice. Wasn't she supposed to be all better now? She woke up, didn't she? "YOU IDIOTS you can't go screaming to someone with a concussion like that!" Chopper said as he ran into the room with his signature coat and stethoscope around his neck. He forgot them in his room, which is why he wasn't in the Lena-visitor stampede. Chopper turned to the captain of the crew and said, "Luffy you idiot Lena's still seriously injured!" "I DID THIS? I'M SO SORRY LENA! I'M SO SORRY! SO SORRY! SO SORRY!" Luffy was bowing and smacking his head on the floor, and all simultaneously making a shit ton of noise. "JUST HURRY UP AND GET OUT OF HERE!" Chopper was once again sporting his heavy point and literally threw Luffy out of the room. He sighed dramatically, and turned back to face Lena. She was still breathing heavily, her hands covering her eyes, but Nami was already soaking a towel in cold water to put over her forehead, and Robin was gently holding and stroking her hand, which was visibly having a relaxing effect. "Thanks guys. I think I ought to give her another examination now that she's up. You can come back to visit when I'm done, but you _have_ to take it easy."

Everyone got up and left except for Sanji and Zoro. "Feel better, Lena-chan!" Nami said over her shoulder as she closed the door behind the group. "I'd rather stay, if you don't mind." The two men said perfectly in sync. Usually, this would easily piss each other off, and more often than not send them straight into a fight, but this time neither even noticed. Instead they both brought up stools and sat next by Lena's bed as they had been doing every day before.

"Nehehehehe" The three pirates heard a soft chuckle, and all three saw Lena sitting Up for the first time and softly laughing to herself. "So I guess those were your crewmates, huh. I gotta say I was a little shocked at first, believe it or not I've never seen a talking skeleton before." Another giggle. "But I guess I should start getting used to it. You can never tell what might happen with pirates! And you must have been telling them about me. I'm so flattered, they even knew my name!" She flashed them a big grin, which unfortunately they could not return. Their faces filled filled with surprise, curiosity, but mainly concern. Zoro frowned and remembered Lena's weird reaction when she first woke up. He hadn't told anyone else about that yet, and got a little worried that it was about more than just the swords. They were all silent for a good couple of seconds before Sanji spoke up. "Lena-chan, what are you-" Lena was feeling particularly proud of herself for being so observant, and according to one of her worse habits, toned out everyone else in the room as she mentally complimented herself. She didn't hear Sanji start to talk, and interrupted him with ease. She faced Chopper, who was standing by Sanji and Zoro and said, "And you must be the doctor then, little moose-san." She flashed him an adorable smile.

"Moose? Did you say moose? I AM NOT A MOOSE I'M A RACOON. NO WAIT I'M A REINDEER GODDAMIT! Wait, hold on! Lena, what are you talking about? It's me Chopper!"

"Chopper, huh? That's such a cute name!" Another smile.

_Oh no._ Chopper hopped onto her bed and stood right on her abdomen. "Lena-chan, what are you talking about?" Sanji asked her, this time a lot more worry clearly audible.

Lena, who are those two guys?" Chopper asked as he pointed to Sanji and Zoro.

"Sanji and Zoro of course."

"Right. But that was the first time I, or anyone has told you my name, right?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know the names of any of the other people who came to visit you?"

"No."

Zoro and Sanji's eyes opened wide, and their pupils shrank. Sanji's cigarette dropped out of his mouth, but he stayed seated, eyes glued to Lena. Lena saw that Zoro, on the other hand, jumped out of his chair, and he seemed...angry, though she didn't know why. He clenched his teeth and made a tightened his hands into a fist, until Lena saw blood dripping down his palms. Chopper just weakly feel down onto her stomach, as if all at once his strength was sucked out of him. It was an unnerving sight for Lena, and she didn't know what to make out of it. "Umm, guys? Are you alright?" She tried to nervously smile in order to somehow lift the mood, but no one could bring themselves to make eye contact.

* * *

_Chopper was the one who finally broke the silence. He said that he was going to do another check-up on Lena, and asked Zoro and Sanji to go get the rest of the crew so he could explain what was going on to everyone._

"Memory Loss"

The subsequent reaction from Chopper's quite blunt statement was obviously to be expected.

"EEEEEEEHHHH"

"Oh Lena-chan…"Nami brought her hands to her mouth.

"So, she doesn't remember any of us?" Robin inquired.

"Well, not exactly." The rest of the newly informed members of the crew quickly looked over to Chopper, each one's look demanded that he elaborate, but Lena was the one who spoke up instead.

"I'm sorry. I mean, I remember seeing most of you guys in the plaza, but we were never introduced."

"So, that means you remember Zoro and Sanji!" Franky exclaimed hopefully.

"Yeah." Lena said, blushing a little. She was starting to feel bad that she didn't remember any of the people around her.

Chopper started with the questions again. "Lena, what time does your memory cut off?"

Lena took her time going through her memories, which were currently not in very good shape. "We, uhh, I offered to show the guys a good place to eat, and we walked through the market. We got to the ramen shop, and…and…" The same sharp pain seared through her mind, and made Lena bend over and clutch her head. "Ugh!" "Don't force yourself!" Chopper said and was about to climb back onto her bed, but she stopped him. Through short, staggered breaths, she managed say that she was fine, she just needed a second. After what happened the last time the group saw Lena, no one dared make another sound. That is, except for Luffy. But he was never one to get these kinds of situations anyways.

"That's not faaaiir! Why does Lena only remember Zoro and Sanji!?" He had his arms folded across his chest like a little kid who couldn't understand why he had to go to bed so early. Nami was just about ready to beat him into next Tuesday, but Lena, to the surprise of most, spoke up. Her lips started to tremble and tears started to pool in her eyes.

"I'm sorry waraji-san, I really wish I remember you. You seem, you _all_ seem so nice, I'm…really so sorry!"

"w-waraji-san?!"

"Yeah!" She said, and the tears stopped welling. "I really like your straw sandals! I mean, the hats nice and all, but they straw sandals are obviously your signature look. I really like them!" Then, to Lena's surprise, Luffy started insanely laughing, and the rest of his crew soon joined him. Lena just sat there, not understanding what everyone thought was so funny, until Luffy could control himself again. He turned to her, ruffled her hair, and said, "I can't believe you forgot my name too! Its waraji-captain-san!" And he gave her a huge grin. It took Lena a second, but then it was her turn to laugh and laugh until her sides hurt.

A chorus of Mugiwara pirates then screamed at him, "Oi Luffy don't touch her head she's fucking injured!" Eight hands gave him a punch that sent him crashing into the wall, breaking said wall, and come crashing down onto the floor with an appropriate bump.

* * *

"Chopper, what's wrong? You've had that same expression on all dinner." Robin asked Chopper just as Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp left the dining room for lookout duty, referring to distant he looked all throughout dinner. Sanji was doing the dishes, and mostly everyone else were sitting on the couches. Chopper jumped in his seat, and got a little embarrassed because he didn't think anyone had noticed. "It's…It's just..." Chopper _forcefully_ put his cup of orange juice down on the table, and sighed heavily. "I've been thinking Robin. Lena didn't have any other injuries besides the one on her head, and when I checked it out there wasn't any evidence that showed she had sustained any kind of injury like it before. She seemed pretty excited to see our ship when we told her about it, right? Kind of like, she had never seen one like it before, right?" It took all of Chopper's restraint to hold back his tears. "Doesn't that mean that she hung out with us, pirates, for the first time, and then she was attacked for it?! Doesn't it mean this is our fault?!" The crew looked up at the now balling Chopper, regret entering their eyes. _Is that true?_ They all questioned themselves. Had they been subconsciously repressing that notion for the sake of a more convenient answer? Doubts began swarming in each one's head, until Robin spoke up in response. "Were we not also the ones who saved Lena, whether it was our fault or not?" All heads now turned to face the archeologist instead. "We don't know what actually happened. All we have now is speculation, and it's best not to assume anything to be true until we get the facts." She sipped her tea, and Chopper, as usual, decided to trust the smartest member of the crew. He wiped his nose and forced himself to stop sniffling. She gave him a warm smile.

"CRASH!" The dining room dwellers heard a plate break from inside the kitchen. Sanji, who had been doing dishes, went outside to go look for a broom.

Or at least, that's what he wanted them to think. But one broken plate was worth it if he got to go see Lena, even after Chopper gave the entire crew an explicit warning to let her rest without disturbance. To his surprise, (but really it shouldn't have been,) when he got into the medical room Zoro was standing by the door.

"You're late." He said.

"Shut up."

They walked over two where their two chairs were still placed by Lena's bed. Once again she was sleeping extremely soundly, honestly if you didn't know any better you never would have known that she ever woke up in the first place. Sanji felt bad that he had to interrupt such a serene image, so he turned to Zoro, who everybody knew was far less romantic. "Tch. Fine." He said from Sanji's unspoken command. He held out his arm but stopped half way across her body. _Maybe shaking her isn't the best idea…_

"What the hell are you doing?" Sanji whispered hastily.

"Well if you've got a better idea, you do it!" Zoro spat back.

As their argument grew, so did their voices.

Lena heard two loud noises enter her consciousness. They were getting louder, until the words changed into unrecognizable roars. _No…not again…_

"mmm…." The two pirates froze as they were about to throw their first punches when they heard their younger companion groan in her sleep. Immediately, they sat back down and faced her bedside. Slowly, her eyes opened, and she realized they were by her side. She turned to them.

"Zoro-san? Sanji-san?"

"Hi Lena-chan! We're sorry for waking you, we just…we, uhh…" Sanji tried to come up with an excuse for why they were bothering a seriously injured young girl about why in fact she was injured when she had memory loss.

"Lena, why are you in this room right now." Zoro was able to think quicker and took over.

"Another Q and A session?" She said groggily and a bit irritated as she sat up and leaned back on her bed frame. "Because I'm injured. And I have memory loss."

"Right. Why are you injured?"

"Well that's…Chopper-chan told me I was…attacked." Suddenly Lena took on a very uncomfortable, even nervous expression. She hugged her knees to her chest and slumped so that only her eyes were visible behind them. It was then that Sanji truly realized the magnitude of the huge age difference between Lena and the rest of the crew. They weren't exactly used to random ambushes, but each had their fair share with getting hurt. This was Lena's first time ever experiencing anything of the sort, not to mention that it was in the one place that was still majorly developing, and it literally hit her very hard. Looking up again after a short moment she noticed that Sanji and Zoro were both staring at her, a look of sympathy in their eyes, "A-anyways! He also told me that you too were really worried about me, and you were the ones who saved me that night. Thank you for thinking of me!" She said with the most convincing smile she could manage.

That startled both pirates to her right. Neither of them in both their wildest dreams thought that they would be receiving any kind of gratitude that night. If anything, they had prepped themselves for a bombardment of insults and curses more to the tune of _YOU SHITHEADS THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! I CAN'T BELIEVE I TRUSTED SOME PIRATES THAT I JUST FUCKING MET!_ And in a way, that might have been easier to deal with. The lack of a response after Lena had showed them such sincere compassion was growing borderline extremely awkward, so Zoro, once again being one to get right back on his feet, abruptly continued where he left off.

"Listen Lena. Who do you think attacked you?"

"Eh?"

Sanji finally found his voice and took back over. "It was probably someone you know Lena-chan, since I doubt some random stranger would bother wasting their time with a little girl. And it was also probably-"

"Ok stop right there if you wouldn't mind." Lena looked like she was using all of her restraint to keep her voice down. "I would appreciate if you wouldn't go accusing my friends like that. They're very important to me."

Sanji was surprised that she was getting…upset? Was Lena getting upset about this? "Lena-chan this is serious we really need to find out who-"

"THEY WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"

Lena's fists were clenching the ends of her sheets. After the sudden remark she felt a familiar, painful sensation, and grunted quietly. Her idiotic pride was working against her again, and she really didn't want to look weak right now. She tried to hide it as well as she could, but Zoro and Sanji immediately picked it up.

"Lena, calm down." Zoro said in a straight, serious tone.

It took Lena a second to collect herself, but she looked him back square in the face. "Those are my friends and family you're talking about. They would never do anything to hurt me."

Zoro was quick to respond, since Lena was being totally controversial to their last real conversation, when she told him and Sanji about how her friends and family were judgmental bastards. "You told us that you come from a twisted city where pirates are despised no matter who they are. Why wouldn't they attack you, who gave us a grand tour and spent the entire day hanging out with us?"

"But I still care about them! Say one more bad thing about my friends and I'll kick your ass." This time Lena didn't shout, she had learned her lesson. She raised her voice only slightly, but her tone was much more serious and powerful, like she truly had ever intent to do some serious harm to the mossy haired man.

"You're not in much of a position to be making threats." Their eyes never wavered for a second.

Then of course, Lena slumped back against her bed again. "You got me there," she said with a weak, half-hearted chuckle, admitting her defeat. Zoro smirked, but only slightly. He liked when he won arguments like these. But all things considered, there wasn't usually this much of a challenge from a fourteen year old girl. The look in her eyes was wise beyond her years, and he acknowledged it with respect. Not that he would admit it to anyone else though.

"I got it. It wasn't them. Then I'm leaving."

"Huh?" Two surprised voices asked in unison. Sanji and Lena looked up at him as he rose from his chair.

"She doesn't know who did it. That's all I came here to ask." With that, Zoro turned around and walked towards the door of the Medical Room. _I am going to find out who it was._ He thought to himself.

"Hold on, you're not leaving, are you? You come in here, wake _me _up, and then just leave? No fucking way sit down."

Then it was Zoro's turned to be surprised, and that outburst left him far more so than his left Sanji and Lena. His legs started moving however, and without even thinking about it he was once again sitting right next to the cook.

"I…I'm not telling you guys all you want to hear, and I get that. And I'm sorry. But I don't know what to think anymore." Lena had to stop to wipe the forming tears from her eyes, then gave them a shaky smile. "I'm scared. I want answers too, and it's so damn frustrating because I think I might have known them but now I can't remember…anything!" Another desperate laugh. "So, you know, I figure I'll tell you all that I know now, all that I can tell, and…I don't know maybe it will help. Knowing more about me, I mean."

_M_y_ fault! Goddamit this is my fault!_ That same line kept repeating over and over in Sanji's head, like a shitty record player. He wanted to kick something. He wanted to curse out the entire fucking world. He wanted to rip off Lena's bandages and destroy the bed she was retained to for the slight chance that maybe she wasn't _really_ injured. Maybe he wasn't _really_ the one who put her there.

Zoro crossed his arms. "Alright. Talk."

Sanji looked up. He then realized that he had been looking down, hair covering his eyes, and staring at his hands that were clenched together with his knuckles turning white.

_That's right. I can't afford to be such a pussy right now._

So he just did his best to put on a genuine smile, for Lena's sake, lit a cigarette in his lap, then said softly, "Everyone has a story. I'd love to hear a cutie's like you."

That got him a small giggle, and a tale of immense caliber. He never expected anything like it.

**That's all for now! Again, follow, comment, or review if you wouldn't mind!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello once again! I'm so glad I finally got around to writing this chapter, because I've been thinking about it as soon as I came up with the idea for this fanfic. This one's all about Lena's backstory, and I hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it! Oh and also, I guess I never mentioned it but the name of Lena's town in Port Rica.**

**PS-per usual, follow/favorite/review if you wouldn't mind!**

**PPS-I still do not own One Piece**

**Chapter 5**

Sanji was sitting on his bed in the men's quarters, mulling over his thoughts. He had a lot to think about.

_A loud snore startled Lena before she could start talking again. Zoro was already fast asleep in his chair, his head leaning back, mouth wide open, and was snoring up a storm. Sanji had a huge urge to punch him in the face, but his pressing desire to hear what Lena had to say took priority. "Just ignore Marimo Lena-chan." He got out through gritted teeth and an angry smirk._

_She took a deep breath. "Ok. Right. Here we go. _

_My mom had me when she was sixteen. She met my dad, a marine soldier, when he stopped in Port Rica on his way to training. His boat had suffered some extra damage from a recent storm, and he was staying longer than usual. My mom at that time was a beautiful young adolescent, and therefore well known in such a small place. She was also extremely upbeat, rambunctious, spunky kid, which I think is where I get it from. So it's no surprise that when a lost, handsome young marine came up to her asking for directions, they immediately hit things off. They spent every day together after that, and soon fell in love. A couple days before he left he had to tell her that he was leaving. Needless to say, my mom was devastated, but he promised he would write her every day, and that he would come back for her. My mom wanted to do something to make sure he would never forget her, and that night, after they both had a couple drinks… one thing lead to another… I think you get the picture. When she finally found out that she was pregnant it was the morning my father was leaving. She ran to the port and caught him just before he got on his ship, and begged him to stay with her to help her have a child. But he was furious. He blamed my mom for getting herself pregnant, and said he wouldn't risk his own future for someone else's problem. He left that day, and she hasn't seen him since._

_I have never met my father._

_She wrote him countless letters, of course. Begging him to come back at first, then just asking for some kind of support. All went unanswered._

_So, my mom, not even considering abortion, went through nine months of hell at age sixteen. She was ostracized, criticized, gossiped about, subsequently judged, all right in front of her eyes. And yet, nobody said a word to her. Friends, family, her own parents even; she was totally abandoned. _

_When I heard all this, I couldn't imagine why she didn't run away. Honestly, I still can't understand it. But either way, she stuck it out. I came into the world, and two years later she came out of the house that had tortured her for their entirety. We moved to a much smaller place on the top of a hill, away from everything that had hurt her. But that is not where the pain ended."_

_Lena paused at that moment and faked a laugh before she continued on. "I know I wasn't exactly alive for all of this, but something changed about my mom once I came into the picture. Something snapped._

_Gone was that fun, bright, smiling young girl. Somehow, she was slowly turning into the person who she hated the most; the person who hated whoever it is she was. She got her job as a bartender at a local pub and inn as soon as she found out she was pregnant, in order to first pay for the house, and then for me. Most of what I know about this stuff comes from the owner Rick. Rick's an old fart now, he's always been totally bald but his long gray beard has gotten a solid foot longer than when we were first introduced. It's his pride and glory. He was the only one to show my mom any kind of compassion, although it was mostly pity. I'm just lucky that he grew to like her or I might have had a very different childhood. _

_Anyways, going back to what I said, after I was born, my mom…I guess...changed is the only way to describe it. She stopped complaining. She changed the way she thought about the world. She stayed home with me when I was an infant, then went back to work as soon as she could leave me alone, coming back to check on me every couple of hours or so. She came home at the same time late every night, made us dinner, scarfed it down, showered, then went straight to bed, all usually while I was still at the dinner table. The weekends were here release from the dreadful cycle. She would sleep almost all day, then go out with her friends all night. Occasionally, I would notice that a man would leave early in the morning before she got up. Sometimes it was the same guy for a couple weeks in a row, but usually it was a pretty varied assortment. She was working her hardest for the both of us, but she still wanted to lead a normal life. She was still only eighteen, and I had to understand that._

_But unfortunately, I didn't immediately click. In fact, I didn't know what to make of it. Of any of it. So I cried. Jesus Christ did I cry a lot. I have to give my mom credit because I wouldn't know how to handle myself. When I was hungry, I cried. When I was hurt, I cried. When I was confused, I cried. When I was lonely, I cried and cried and cried. And that was a lot. My mom would come home to me crying, fix me up, and then keep going in her schedule like she was some kind of machine. She never told me how to bathe myself, so I cried about it until one day I figured it out. But that process wasted an entire bottle of shampoo so she yelled at me. It never occurred to her that she never taught me how to wash myself. Being a mother wasn't about compassion to her. I was always her daughter, and she always, she still does care for me, but…she didn't want a companion. She just needed proof of her existence._

_She was determined to show the bastards who judged her that she could be a mother who raised a beautiful child. One who was respectful and polite, and acceptable, in order to somehow prove that if she could raise someone like that she must also therefore be like that. And she would prove everything they said about her wrong. Because then she would be loved again. I think that was her theory._

_From day one she worked me into her plan as another gear turning to her tune. I had to do my job just like she had to do hers. So, I always wore pretty dresses. And I kept my hair very neat. And I wouldn't speak out of turn. And I would do as I was told. And I would always smile. And I would always play nicely with my friends. And I would always do what they asked me. And I would be especially polite to their mothers. And that would make people like me, and by some twisted sense like her too."_

_Lena exhaled deeply again, and covered her hands with her eyes. She didn't speak for a moment. She was carefully thinking of what to say next. Slowly, she dropped her hands. "Bleechhh" she grunted out loud. Then, she started laughing. All the while she was still staring at the ceiling. Sanji was very honestly confused. "Ah! Sorry Sanji-san let's keep going. I just haven't thought about these things in a while, and thinking back to them all at once is kind of surprisingly exhausting." She looked back down and gave him a weak smile._

_He returned it kindly. "We've got all the time in the world," he said soothingly. Lena picked up where she left off. She quickly found herself lost in her own thoughts once again, narrating her story while looking at the ceiling, as if she could have been saying it to the sky and whoever was currently residing instead._

"_I think…I might be putting my mom in a bad light here. I haven't lived a bad life. I've had food on my plate and a roof above my head for my entire life. I am extremely grateful to my mother for raising me the way that she did. She worked hard so that I could live the life that was robbed from her, and I can never repay her for that. It's just, and I know I'm going to sound contradictory again…Ok so when I was little and we went shopping in the marketplace, I always found in kind of strange that there would be these parents walking around with their child, and they would be holding hands and smiling as they walked. Sometimes, they would swing their child into the air, and the child would laugh and say, 'I love you mommy and daddy!' Why wasn't my mommy like that? Why didn't mommy say I love you to me like that? Mommy just said, 'I love good girls.' _

_And I was not always a good girl. Which is probably why I felt so uneasy about seeing that stuff. It was new and unfamiliar at such a young age. Like I said from the very beginning I would cry all the time. One night-I later realized that she was probably super hungover- my mom was sitting at our table with a major headache. She had just emerged for the first time since she came home that morning from her bedroom, and made enough progress to sit in her pain at the table. Accordingly, my seven year old self hadn't been fed all day. So I finally broke down and cried. Oh boy did I cry that night. My mother of course, was already in a bad mood, and was getting more and more pissed off by the second. I can still remember what she said and exactly how she said it so clearly. "SHUT UP LENA! NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR YOU CRYING!" Those words cut through me. There was a pain in my chest so unbearable that I wanted to rip my heart out so she could check if there was anything wrong with it. But then I realized she didn't want to see if there was something wrong with my heart._

_So I stopped crying that night._

_When I got a little older, I started going into town instead of staying home by myself. Sometimes I would visit mom and Rick by the bar. Usually, though, I would wander around the marketplace. I wanted friends to play with. I saw the boys and girls who ran around the fountain and through the streets. They were always laughing. And when I asked, they would let me play with them too. But then some of them would say they couldn't play with me anymore, and that their mommies and daddies didn't want them being with me. So my friend options were limited, but nonetheless I was just glad to have them around. I didn't care how many there were._

_No matter how much work my mom put into it, some people just saw me as the daughter of a whore. A pitiful child from unfortunate circumstances, but equally as despicable._

_I think what my mom was most frustrated to see was how much of herself was reflected in me. I was spunky and wild and everything she was trying to abandon herself. If any of my friends were getting picked on I would stick up for them. I would even get into fights for them. Whenever I came home with a black eye or a bloody nose my mom would go ballistic! "Why are you doing this Lena?!"She would always ask._

"_They were bullying her mom."_

"_Good girls don't get into fights!"_

_I would never have an answer for that one._

_But I didn't stop. It drove her crazy, and I knew it, but when push came to shove my friend was crying and I had to do something about it. Crying's bad, right mom?_

_And I was never into ruffles either! I wanted to wear shorts, but she wouldn't have it! Skirts are prettier! Dresses make you look so elegant! I wanted shorts and t-shirts so I could run easier. She said looking _

_And you'd think my mom hates the marines, right? Hardly. Marines are courageous, just men who devote their lives to upholding peace. I'd be lucky if I could marry a marine, and I should strive to do so. I'm quoting here, by the way. It's so…weird! It's just so weird. My mom should be the number one person to hate the marines! But she's still one of them, even when they treated her like garbage. She wanted to prove the fundamental principles of the city wrong, yet changed to become exactly what she's fighting, because they pushed her so. I think that maybe somewhere in her that sixteen year old girl is still holding out for my dad, secretly hoping that he still loves her and will come back for her. Isn't that…sad?_

_I don't know exactly when I blossomed out of my protective cocoon, and was fully exposed to my true disposition. But it was not sudden, or shocking. It was a gradual accumulation of information that made me feel upset, and a little guilty. And that's what made me see that maybe all marines are not all good. And maybe all pirates are not all bad. And maybe my mother should have realized that I could have loved her. But I am not what my mother envisioned. I'm too much her own daughter. And my whole life she was desperately trying to change me so that she could still have her fantasy where everything just goes back to 'normal.' _

_She didn't see me as me."_

_Lena paused again and closed her eyes. She thought long and hard about how to phrase her words. After a long moment she spoke up again._

"_She wanted me to find love, but I didn't know what to look for._

* * *

Robin was reading a book in her study, but she noticed that this was the third time she was reading the same page and she still didn't know what it said. She was far too concerned with what Chopper said after dinner to be reading right now. She closed her book and got up. She needed to be doing something to think. She started walking around the circular room, tracing her fingers along the edges of the various books placed in the shelves that scaled from the floor to the ceiling. The ex-assassin in her really came in handy at times like these.

_If someone was really out to hurt Lena, why would they attack her head from behind? She wouldn't see who it was, yes, but there wasn't much pain involved. It was a one hit K-O. Plus, there were no other external injuries. This wasn't much of a punishment display, which means it might not solely have to do with her involvement with the Mugiwara Pirates. So then why was she attacked? Think Robin, Think. You saw that the wound was still fresh when she was brought back to the ship. Which means she was doing something for almost two hours before she was attacked. Also, she was in an alleyway. Why was she in such a remote location? What would she be doing for two hours that would put her there, in such an unideal location, out of all places? This is too vague! Narrow it down. The wound. It was caused by a blunt object by the looks of things. It wasn't precise. Head injuries often involve brain damage; did the attackers want Lena to forget something? Did they want her to forget that she was with us? No, that can't be it. Why would she be in a desolate ally if they wanted her to be found by the townspeople? They must have known that we would be looking for her. So they wanted us to find her. They wanted us to find a girl, who they know we would give medical care to, but she can't remember why she was attacked. What was Lena doing in those two hours? Who attacked her? What is their goal?_

Nico Robin was hungry for more information. This was only the first step. She was sure that there's more to this than what meets the eye, and it had been a long time since she had faced a mystery so…_enticing_.

**Ok so this chapter was a little shorter than last time. Sorry about that. I need to go into some major league planning to figure out what do from here. I want to get into more action with the core characters, and I think I'm going to start my first arc with Lena and the gang. I would love suggestions and reviews!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok I am so, SO sorry this chapter took me so long! I think I rewrote every sentence like three times. But it's the longest chapter I've written so far if that makes up for anything. I've kept you waiting long enough, so without any further delay; I present to you chapter 6! Oh, but before I forget I don't own one piece aaand don't forget to review, and or follow/fave! Ok! Here it is!**

**Chapter 6**

Lena's eyes shot open. She was once again greeted by the same, bleak, off-white ceiling. That was the fourth time she had woken up that night.

_It's those damn noises!_ She cursed to herself. But it was true.

Every time she fell asleep she found herself in the dark place again.

_Telling…basically her life story so far really tired Lena out. Sanji closed the door as quietly as he could, then walked back to the men's quarters. She waited for the sound of his footsteps to grow faint, until they disappeared completely. Then she relaxed. For some reason, she needed to be totally alone to do so. She didn't give it much though. Honestly, it was subconscious. Shortly after she fell right asleep._

"_NO! NO! LET ME OUT! PLEASE LET ME OUT!" Lena pounded the ground ferociously, though she couldn't see it. Everything that surrounded her was darkness, yet she was kneeling on something definitely solid. The unnerving thing was that only touch could tell where the solid ended and the emptiness started._

_Lena's fist hit the ground one last time before she realized something. "Wait a second, this is just a dream…isn't it?" The trickle of noises were quickly starting to grow louder, causing her to panic even more. "I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming! Wake up Lena! Wake up! Wake UP!" She pinched herself. Nothing happened. She pulled her hair. Same result. She started crying, but pure nothingness caries no compassion._

_Then Lena felt a terribly familiar sensation. The pressure of an uncountable number of deafening noises converged on her once again. From her kneeling position she unintentionally brought her head down to the ground, and her hands up to her ears. She cried out in agony, and fear. She knew there would be no escaping this hell anymore. _

_She knew she had to bear it, so she did._

Then she woke up.

She had huge drops of sweat running down her face.

_It was just a dream again…_ She sighed shakily, but put on a weak smile as she wiped her cheeks.

_It wasn't real. It was just a bad dream._

So, with another wonderfully scarring experience under her belt, a very tired Lena-chan walked into the dining hall, much to the surprise of the Mugiwara Pirate Chef. She had a serious case of bed-head and there were traces of forming bags under her melancholy eyes. She was wearing a pale green T-shirt and pale blue shorts, with one of the white medical-room blankets tightly wrapped around her body, the ends slightly dragging behind her.

This early in the morning Sanji is usually the only one up to prepare breakfast for everyone else. This morning, equipped with his essential daily mug of coffee, he was just getting started on making breakfast, and had just gotten all the ingredients out of the fridge or other storage areas. This was his favorite part of the day, listening to only the beautiful sound of kitchen knives and sizzling pans while he had the perfect view of the sunrise.

Which is why he found it very odd when he thought he heard the door open. He looked out the window of the kitchen and was greeted with such an unkempt sight.

"Lena-chan! What are you doing out of bed?! You should be resting!"

"I can't sleep Sanji."

Sanji's more…sympathetic side was brought out by Lena's subsequent puppy dog face. Plus she pulled the blanket over her head and plopped down in one of the chairs by the dining table. It was undeniably adorable.

"EHHHHH?! DID MY BEAUTIFUL LENA-CHWAN HAVE A NIGHTMARE?!" Peeking out from underneath her shell, Lena saw various foods and cooking accessories being discarded out the kitchen window in Sanji's frenzy. He was concocting something so quickly that a comical dust cloud formed and blocked her view. Sanji came running out of it just as insanely fast as he created it, and placed a steaming mug in front of Lena that smelled _amazing_. It was topped with a mountain of whipped cream, two biscuits peeking out of it, and cinnamon powder sprinkled on top. It was in a word…food porn. Lena didn't know what it was but she was immediately and extremely delighted.

"For the petite mademoiselle we have a delicious cup of hot cocoa. It'll make you forget about any silly nightmares of the past." Sanji spoke in a smooth, soothing voice, with a profound calming effect. His sudden, drastic change in attitude seemed borderline bipolar, which made her giggle a little bit before taking a sip. She exhaled deeply as she felt the heat spread throughout her entire body and her taste-buds bathe in a rush of sweet, decadent chocolate.

But something about that hazy cloud of darkness stayed rooted in her mind; constantly looming over her shoulder in case her mind faltered in the slightest bit. Even though Sanji's genuine concern comforted her, she still pulled the blanket around her even tighter. _What if it happens again? I don't even want to think about it. I never want to have to bear that again, I'd rather…_

_Die!_

Sanji noticed Lena's eyes drift to the floor. No doubt that she wasn't with him at the moment. She was thinking about something. Definitely something not good.

_Shit…Again? Did the cocoa not work?_ He thought to himself.

The same girl he met by the fountain didn't tell Sanji that story last night. It was someone else, whose eyes were exhausted. He knew she was scared, if he didn't he wouldn't have been up all night worrying about her, and what to do. _Why has it come to this?!_

Sanji hated when he asked himself that question. Because it always came to the same answer.

_Because you're an idiot who isn't even strong enough to protect one little girl!_

"Tch!" Sanji hit his cutting board with extra force. The piece of onion he was cutting went flying, which brought Lena's attention back to the present.

"Sanji, do you need some help?" Sanji was surprised to hear Lena's soft voice coming from behind the counter as he bent over to pick it up.

"No thank you, that's ok. You don't need to worry your cute little head about something like that."

_Good, she's back. Ok. I can't be getting so worked up right now! I need to distract her! I won't let her be scared anymore! I already swore that to myself, dammit! Where is the noisiest crew in the Grand Line when you need them?_

"Do you like to cook Lena-chan?" _That's what you come up with?_

_Shut up subconscious, I don't need your shit right now._

"Do I like to cook? Uh, yeah, I would say so. I'm not very good at it, but I can make a decent pot of spaghetti. I'm pretty used to making the basics, nothing special."

"I love cooking! I basically grew up with it, so I could teach you a thing or two if you'd like."

"Grew up with it… what do you mean?"

"I've been cooking since I was a kid! My oldest memories take place on the Orbit, which was the ship I worked on as an apprentice chef. The guys I worked with there showed me how amazing it is to be a chef, how important we are, how powerful we can be! And ever since then it's been my dream to find All blue!"

"All…Blue?"

Sanji's eyes glowed with excitement as he told Lena all about his deepest ambition. He originally intended to get her talking so she would forget her worry, but in the end the opposite happened. Sanji lost himself in his momentum and ended up telling her about Zeff and the Baratie and how he first met Luffy and the rest of the Mugiwara crew. He never looked up from his work though. Instead he floated effortlessly around the kitchen in a natural rhythm while he spoke and spoke, never losing his momentum, and yet never making any mistakes while preparing the dishes. The whole sight really summed himself up perfectly; he felt at home when he cooked.

Lena listened intently to what he had to say from her perch by the counter. Occasionally, she would ask him little questions to further encourage his tale, like "what's that?" or "did you really do that?" His emotions were clearly conveyed behind his words. It wasn't just cooking; Sanji was passionate about everything he did. It was a pleasure to hear him speak so vibrantly, and it was also a bit relieving. She knew from the start that the whole thing was a ploy to cheer her up, and she regretted being so visibly upset. _I've got to keep it in. I don't want anyone to worry about me._

For the time being though, Lena let herself be absorbed into Sanji's story.

And before either of them knew it Nami, Robin, and Brook walked in.

"Ah! Good morning!" Sanji said, as if this occasion was the most common thing in the world. He brought them each a piping hot cup of tea as they sat down at the dining table. Three "thank you's" were said in a chorus, then Sanji came back to the kitchen put the finishing touches on breakfast. Lena noted the regularity in everybody's expressions. She didn't even notice when Sanji paused making breakfast to put on the kettle, since he never broke from his story. Even in such a hectic ship, there was still an odd sense of pristine schedule. It made Lena smile. There was a lot more to these people than appeared to be.

And after months of the same routine, Sanji had noted a couple of things too.

Those three are usually the earliest ones up beside himself. Robin says that she's always had a habit of waking up early. But it was more along the lines of she never really slept in the same place for very long. After years of being a wanted criminal on the run, she probably couldn't afford being totally unaware and unprotected.

Nami feels the need be up early so she can check on the weather, and make sure the ship is travelling on course. She also sneaks into the treasury and does a little head count before making her way into the dining room, although she has chosen to keep that part of her routine to herself. But Sanji eventually noticed as well.

And Brook just likes to be in the presence of ladies. More opportunities to see their panties.

After her first sip, Nami noticed a form sitting on one of the stools in a blanket burrito. When she looked closely, she could see a couple of light blond strands of hair peeking out.

"Lena! Shouldn't you be in bed?" She asked. Robin and Brook looked up as well.

Lena was nervous being confronted with so many concerned faces. "I think I've been in bed long enough, Nami-san! I'm feeling better already!" She tried to give them a sincere grin. But it was difficult. Robin noticed how here movements seemed forced, and her smile was not the same as the ones that lit up her face on the beach. She however, was much better at concealing her emotions.

"That's good to hear. I'm glad to see you back to your normal self again." Robin gave her a fake, much more convincing, full-hearted smile and took another sip of tea.

After placing the final piece of decorative parsley, Sanji enthusiastically said, "There! All done!" He was extremely pleased with his latest work of art; omelets with broccoli, feta cheese, onions, and kale. There was also toast on the side, and additional toppings of ketchup and or hot sauce. Drinks being served were tea, coffee, and orange juice. Sanji then whisked from the kitchen in the blink of an eye, and before Lena knew it the entire table was ornately set with fancy silver cutlery and porcelain plates. Nami, Robin, and Brook simply lifted up their cups so he could set their places, and none of them even had to look up to do so.

The whole spectacle was only ruined by one thing.

"Um, excuse me, Nami-san, Robin-san, could I please see you panties?"

"LIKE HELL!"

Brook was thrown across the room by Nami's karate kick, where he hit the wall and slid down it mumbling "Yohoho! I must start the day by asking!"

"I wish you'd give it a rest already though!" Nami seemed exasperated and slumped back into her chair. Sanji and Robin chuckled, and Lena, still very, very confused as to why a skeleton would need to see a girl's undies, decided to as well.

Then Sanji walked outside and yelled down to the mens' cabin "OI YOU SHITHEADS! BREAKFAST IS READY!" Even from far away he could hear a certain someone wearing a straw hat yell "FOOD!" Followed by the sound of that same person falling out of bed.

Luffy and the rest of the crew filed into the dining room, eagerly anticipating breakfast. They were all pretty shocked too to see Lena there. Luffy said that he was so happy she finally got out of bed, and that he was wondering if her legs had stopped working along with her memory.

Zoro wasn't as impressed. He turned to look at Sanji, who was bringing out everyone's plates of food as they made their way to sit down at the table. He saw how she was doing her best to smile back at Luffy, but his comment had caught her off guard, and a bit of her apprehension leaked out. The swordsman and the chef caught each other's eyes for a split second, before Sanji turned away. That was all the recognition Zoro needed; he knew they were thinking the same thing.

For some reason both men had developed an unusual paternal feeling for Lena. They felt the desire to keep her safe, and away from any more hardships. Did they pity her? No, it was more than that. They felt responsible for what happened on a deeper level than anyone else. If only they were stronger, if only they had stayed with her that day. They berated themselves with feelings of regret and shame, and unconsciously developed such a protective sense. But interestingly enough, while it was totally apparent to each other, they would ever speak a word of it to anybody else. Death was much preferable. It would mean admitting their weaknesses. It would make them lesser men. And that was not an option.

As a result, they immediately noticed Lena's different behavior. Although honestly it wasn't that hard. Robin noticed it too. She was emitting a bad aura. She needed more training, Zoro thought to himself. But no one wanted to make a little girl with a serious head injury worry about them, so no one said anything to her. They went on with their day, and tried their best to ignore her weary eyes for the time being.

Breakfast went well. Nobody pressed Lena too hard about if she was feeling alright, or if she needed anything.

Currently, Sanji was still in the kitchen doing dishes, but the rest of the crew was on the deck having fun in a multitude of ways. On the other side of the galley Zoro was lifting weights way over the normal and safe weight measurements. The crew knew that area to be Zoro's designated spot, and he was glad that they chose not to bother him. He had more time to his thoughts.

Everyone else was soaking up the sun by the lawn deck.

"Oi Nami why aren't we going anywhere?" Luffy asked. He was sprawled out on his favorite spot with his tongue hanging loosely out of his mouth, wearing a pair of swim trunks, his straw hat, and of course his straw sandals.

"What choice do we have? There's no wind today! You'll just have to put up with the heat!" Nami snapped back at him. And she was right. Unfortunately for the Mugiwara Pirates, the cloud that they had been under made the impression of a nice, cool day, but once they got out of it they learned the terrible truth. It was a brutally hot day, at least 90°F. Combined with the lack of wind and the reflection of the sun from the calm ocean, the heat was insane. Everyone was taking the necessary precautions, like wearing their bathing suits, and for the girls their floppy hats and sunglasses. Franky had his hair set to his buzz cut battle-mode to beat the heat.

Lena was sporting a cute dark purple two piece. Very plain. The top was tied basically as tight as it could go and the bottom was secured with a safety pin. It was Nami's after all.

"_Lena-chan, do you want to borrow one of our bathing suits?"_

"_Are you sure that's ok Nami-san? I'm ok staying in this" Lena said, referring to the t-shirt and shorts outfit she had on presently._

"_It's totally fine! I've got plenty that would look great on you!" And with that Nami excitedly took Lena's hand and lead her to her closet, where she gave her tons of bathing suits of different colors and patterns to try on. The problem, which she and Robin soon figured out, was that Lena was too tiny to fit into any. So they came up with a more creative solution._

"_Hey Nami-san, Robin-san, what ever happened to my clothes? When Sanji…found me, I couldn't have been naked right?" Lena was in the midst of trying on a blue one piece that was cut low in the back. It had orange polka dots, and it would have looked quite cute on her, if it weren't that the top was so loose, especially in the chest area. She didn't speak to them directly, rather she spoke as she looked into the mirror at her reflection._

"_Oh. Uh…about that…" Nami seemed at a loss of what to say. Lena couldn't see what her face looked like, but she wasn't expecting such a reaction. She looked over to the two older women standing behind her, curious as to why they were acting so weird all of a sudden._

_Robin was the one to finally speak up. "Gomen, Lena. You were wearing a pretty white dress with a pink ribbon under the collar, but we couldn't get the blood out. We still have it, if you want. We just didn't know if we should give it to you yet." Robin spoke carefully, not wanting to scare Lena. She waited for the tears, or at the very least pout to come._

"_Oh! Well, um, that's ok! I never really liked those dresses anyways! They were too frilly! I don't really like ruffles, you know?" Lena laughed nervously and turned back to the mirror. "I like this one! All we need to do is tighten it, but you guys have some safety pins right?"_

Lena sighed after she realized she had lost herself in a flashback again. She was leaning on the top of the staircase leading down to the deck. Up until then she had been enjoying the view of the various Mugiwara pirates. Actually most of them weren't doing much, being that it was so hot and what not, but Lena found the peace quite comforting. And lately it has seemed like noisy things just keep getting louder and louder. It's a scary feeling. Bad memories.

Noise was a problem. But quiet was starting to become one too. Sanji had a loose grasp of it, but when Lena wasn't occupied with something her thoughts somehow always found their way to the same place.

Her fear. Her pain. The feeling of being totally powerless.

Nobody could help her. She knew that. Regardless of whether they were pirates or not, what could the crew do to help her? What could anyone do? How do you explain to someone that you're being tortured by some kind of darkness where there are these loud noises that cause you immense pain? Oh, and this whole place may or may not actually exist.

And yet she was dragging them down. Everyone who was being so kind to her, she was making them worry about her.

_I'm the worst. Just the worst!_

"Wait a second, I have a great idea! You guys, let's go swimming!" Usopp jumped out of his exhaustion with his sudden burst of genius, and it encouraged others to do the same.

"That's a pretty SUPER idea! We're all wearing our bathing suits!"

"Yeah but you're _always _wearing a bathing suit." Usopp said flatly.

"Baka! This is my extra-special hot days tiger print speedo that also has a convenient waterproof ability! It's not just my ordinary fashion!" A bunch of snickers came from the bystanders.

"It's hard to call completely exposing your hairy legs fashion though." Nami added in.

Then the crew burst into laughter. They all had been thinking the same thing, but Nami put it into words beautifully. Franky, who couldn't beat such a well-crafted insult, just blushed embarrassedly.

"You guys are so lucky that you get to swim," Luffy pouted and yelled over. He still hadn't moved. He actually stretched his head further down the lion in his new depression.

"What can you do Luffy you ate a devil's-"

"ENEMY SHIP SPOTTED!" Luffy interrupted Usopp and jumped up to face the incoming attack.

"EH?!"

"What did you say?" Sanji chose an ideal time to come bursting out of the dining room. He ran up to the crow's nest and looked towards Luffy's direction through a telescope.

"He's right!" He called down. "There are about…five marine warships coming towards us! They're not yet in cannon range though…"

As if on cue a tiny black dot shot out of the foremost ship. About a second later, it hit the Sunny head on.

"Oi Sanji didn't you just say it was out of cannon range?" Franky asked angrily.

"It should be! No normal ship can shoot on target from that far away! Well whatever, everyone! Get ready for an attack!" Sanji jumped down from the nest and stood alongside Luffy and Zoro, who heard the impact and ran over. They would be taking care of any further cannonballs.

Usopp headed to the men's quarters to grab his weapon, Nami needed to grab her Climatact as well and did the same. Robin, Chooper, and Brook, who already had his sword, took their offensive stances as a second wall of defense, and Franky manned the steering wheel.

Lena was a little overwhelmed by everyone's pace. She felt her legs walk backwards until a wall was behind her.

_What should I do? I'm scared! It's going to be really loud. I need to get away. But why, why can't I move?!_

Lena was once again paralyzed by her own fear. This was becoming an unfortunately common problem for her.

She started breathing faster. She felt her knees shaking.

_No. Not again. Not like this! I told myself no. NO! I'D RATHER-_

"LENA!"

Lena was snapped out of her panic and looked to where her name was called from. It was waraji-captain-san. His back was turned to her, facing the oncoming fleet that was quickly drawing near. Sanji and Zoro were taking care of the cannonballs, with a little help from Robin's hana-hana no mi if a stray one got past them. He stood very tall, never moving from his spot on top of the figure head, never doubting that his nakama would protect him at any cost.

"Don't worry! We'll take care of these guys in a second." He gave her a huge grin before she heard him yell, "gomu gomu no fuusen!" He expanded his torso to deflect three oncoming attacks, and once he landed joined in the fray of defending the ship. Sanji and Zoro both grinned. Sometimes their captain had a way with words, despite his mediocre vocabulary most of the time.

Lena was astounded at how calm waraji-captain-san could be during such chaos. And for it to be him of all people! It was amazing. But the admiration was short lived.

The marines were now within breaching distance, and they started boarding the Sunny-Go. The whole Mugiwara crew was engaged in combat. It didn't seem like any of them in particular were having much trouble fending off their enemies, but the problem laid in their numbers. The pirates were outnumbered, and the cannons weren't stopping.

Three more hit. That's when Lena slipped. As expected, she couldn't take the staggering volume anymore. Her headache was so bad that she was sure her skull was splitting in two. The events that happened after that occurred to her in a daze. There were marines yelling. She could also hear the individual voices of each crew member. They were much clearer. Swords were clashing, she could hear the metals collide. Guns were being shot, she could hear the expulsion of the bullet. She could hear everything as if she were floating above the dimension where it was all taking place. Like it was coming to her with some kind of static jamming the signal.

The battle was growing prolonged, but the multitudes of sounds didn't waver. But she couldn't distinguish the footsteps coming near her. She was sitting against the center of the wall above the deck, head against her knees.

"Who the hell is this?"

A marine kicked her against the banister on the right side of the ship, and she roughly fell on her side. Something in her mind registered that she was just kicked, but she was already on sensory overload, and the pain didn't click. She did however, hear his boot hit her skin, and her head hit the floor. Not good for the girl with a concussion.

"Oi! It's just a kid!"

"Is she part of the crew too?"

"We received information that there's only nine people in the crew!"

"Is she a hostage then?"

"We would have received a missing person report from her town by now, right?"

"Then she must be a crew member!"

"Kill her!"

Sanji's woman-in-danger radar turned on just in time for him to see a group of six marines surrounding Lena. And she was…_lying on the ground?!_

"LENA-CHAN!"

"Shit! Lena!" Zoro had looked up from the idiot cook's shout.

"Lena!"

"Lena, watch out!"

The crew members were all facing a similar problem. They were surrounded by too many enemies to get to her in time.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HER WITH YOUR FILTHY HANDS YOU BASTARDS!" Luffy screamed in desperation.

"**SKY WALK!"**

In a flash Sanji's foot was blocking a sword from reaching Lena's neck.

Lena looked up to see a hazy man with blond hair standing in front of her. Another man in a white and blue uniform was in front of him.

…_Sanji…?_

"What the fuck-"One kick sent the swordsman marine flying.

"Do you think you're doing-"Two more kicks.

"To a LADY?!"Three last kicks and that bunch was history. He almost regretted having to use his sky walk on such weaklings.

"Good job Sanji!" Luffy yelled over to him.

_Fast bastard._ Zoro privately thought.

"Franky, this is getting out of hand! We need to use a coup do burst and get out of here!" Nami shouted up at the shipwright from the deck below.

"I'm two steps ahead of you Nami! Luffy, is that OK with you?"

"Yeah! These guys are getting really annoying. They're never-ending!"

Sanji leaned over to help Lena who was still lying on the floor. "Lena-chan, are you hurt any-"

"COUP DO…"

The marine army looked at the cannon at the cannon at the back of the Mugiwara ship. It started lighting up and shaking the ship. The captain of the fleet ran to the railing of his ship and looked over.

"MEN! GET OFF THEIR SHIP!" He knew what would be coming next from previous reports. That was the infamous Mugiwara escape plan, with 100% effectiveness.

"Cannons! Aim at the sky! Don't let them get away unscathed!"

"Yes sir!"

"…BURST!"

With that the Sunny-Go flew out of the water, and past the Marines with ease.

"Good job Franky!"

Their path was clear. The ocean ahead of them was empty and calm.

_CRASH!_

Unfortunately, however, that captain was a more formidable enemy than they gave him credit for. The last cannon shot hit the back end of the Sunny, giving him one last glance of it twisting out of control before it was completely out of sight.

The ship landed miles away on a nasty angle almost totally on its side.

Lena, being right at the edge to begin with, was immediately thrown off.

With the splash that the ship made it was barely even noticeable.

Sanji couldn't see it because his eyes were closed from the impact. The same went for everybody else.

"Oi! Is everybody OK?" Luffy was the first voice heard after the ship steadied itself a short moment later.

Eight other voices confirmed their safety.

"Oi. Where's…Lena?" Zoro asked, still panting.

"Is this somebody's idea of a sick joke?! Because if it is then it's NOT FUNNY!"

Lena once again woke up to utter darkness.

But she was taking a different approach this time.

She was screaming at the top of her lungs into the darkness. She didn't know where she was screaming to, but she didn't need to. It was listening to her.

"Show yourself you coward! Come out here and fight me! There are never just sounds! They have to be coming from somewhere! So get out here! Bastard!

This is all your fault! This is all YOUR FAULT!

That was Sanji protecting me. I'm sure of it. You're making me put my friend's lives at danger now?

Everything up until now has been because of you! The agony both in…wherever this is, and with out there!

I realize now that I was wrong. I was wrong to be afraid of you. To cower in fear that you would once again find me. To wallow in my own self-pity feeling like I was powerless to stop you. For a while I had fooled myself into thinking like that, but even worse I made everyone worry about me. They've been nothing but good to me, but I'm just the worst kind of person. Well, I am still the worst kind of person, but I will _not _be powerless anymore.

I KNOW NOW THAT I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ANGRY AT YOU!"

Lena's throat was burning from all her screaming. She had to pause to regain her breath.

That's when she started to hear the noises. She was probably drowning them out herself before. They were pretty loud and only growing louder. She knew it wouldn't be long before they inflicted their full power, but she was too fired up to lose her intensity. For the first time in too long her eyes were showing true emotion. Pure rage and passion.

"I said I'm not afraid of your shit anymore! Stop hiding behind your old tricks and fight me! Fight me you son of a bitch!"

True to her word, Lena suddenly felt the massive presence of the noises right on top of her. They were as brutal as ever. She staggered a bit, but didn't lose her footing. That would have been the end. But she persevered. Faltering meant backing down. This time, backing down would mean death.

"I thought I told you…**TO STOP IT!"**

Her voice resounded through the emptiness.

And strangely enough,

It was quiet.

Lena started coughing up water.

Slowly, her consciousness started coming back to her, and she opened her eyes.

She saw a very wet Zoro to her right leaning over her and saying something.

"-na? Lena? Say something! Lena!"

Her eyes wandered over to her left, where Chopper-chan was in his heavy-point transformation. He was sitting down and panting.

_Chopper? Zoro?_

Lena quickly sat up. She remembered what happened. She remembered she got knocked out. And she remembered what happened afterwards.

_Where's Sanji?_ Was the first thing she thought.

But she didn't immediately get a response. She was tackled in a bear hug instead. Everyone was too relieved that she had finally woken up for it to fully register in their brains.

"You guys, what's wrong? Oi!" Between the tears of joy and tears of relief Lena was thoroughly confused.

"You… weren't breathing." Chopper told her through labored breaths. He was back into his smaller form.

"Eh?"

"You were thrown overboard when we landed. Geez, try to be a little more careful next time!" Zoro said from her other side. He had a scowl on his face that said, "you had me worried dammit!"

"What's wrong with you Lena? I thought you could swim!" Luffy said.

"You idiot! Who could swim in those rough waters?" Nami yelled at him, then proceeded to punch him for good measure.

"I can swim! That was just too weird! As soon as I hit the water it felt like all of my strength was gone!"

The rudest, most obnoxious pirates fell dead quiet. Then they all turned to her and let out a nine-way simultaneous "huh?"

Robin gasped. That was it. That was the next puzzle piece. That was the answer!

"Lena," she began to say, "I think that in our absence so many days ago, you ate a devil's fruit."

"Eh?" Lena said.

Followed by "EEEEEHHHHHH?" From the Mugiwara crew.

"Why didn't you tell us you were going through so much pain?" Sanji couldn't contain his anger anymore. Lena just looked down at the ground and gripped her towel harder. She really did like it better when she had something wrapped around her.

Robin asked her if anything seemed different about herself after she woke up from being attacked. So Lena told them about waking up in darkness. Sanji had every right to be angry at her reluctance, she was even expecting it. But that didn't make her feel any better about it.

"Why didn't you tell us Lena?" He yelled at her again.

"Well what could you have done? Really? What could you? There was no way until now to tell that this was caused by a devil's fruit! I knew you guys were worried about me, but I didn't want to abuse your kindness anymore!"

That brought everyone to a halt. Lena looked around uncomfortably at so many surprised faces.

"Oi Lena. You're on a pirate ship. You can't be so selfish!" Luffy spoke with seriousness and a tad bit of agitation. "Don't just go deciding things on your own like that. What the hell are you talking about, 'abusing our kindness?' We're nakama, aren't we?"

"Nakama?"

"That's right! Nakama are people who you care about! People who you don't want to see in pain!" Luffy gave Lena his signature goofy grin.

Taking another look around, she saw that his other 'nakama' were all smiling too.

Lena was shocked, but thrilled. She felt all her worry slipping away. It was as if a huge weiht was being lifted off her chest. She took a deep breath, savoring the feeling of her lungs filling up with air in pure bliss.

"I'm sorry you guys! I'm sorry I was such an idiot!" She returned Luffy's smile with one of her own. It lit up her face in a nostalgic way. It was a great sight for sore eyes.

Meanwhile, Robin had been lost in her own thoughts and missed out on such a heartwarming moment. However, her contribution was incredibly important for the start of Lena's journey as the Mugiwara Crew's newest nakama.

"Lena-chan. I think you ate the koe-koe no mi."

**What did you think? Were you totally not expecting that? I was, but that's only because I wrote it. By the way, koe, also according to google translate, means voice. You can look it up to see exactly how it's pronounced. As usual, please review for suggestions. And if you loved it as much as I intended for you to do so, please follow or favorite!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hellooo again everyone! First of all I would like to thank you for not showing up at my house in an angry mob. I felt really bad about not updating for so long, but I swear to you I have had no time at all, and I wanted to make sure this was up to par for your quality standards! But I am not going to delay you and further! After all I know you've been dying to see the true essence of the koe-koe no mi!**

**I do not own one piece!**

**Please like/favorite/review!**

**Now read the damn thing!**

**Chapter 7**

"_Again with that Robin-san? I told you before, I've never eaten a devil's fruit!" Lena said._

"_It really does sound like you ate one though Lena-chan." Nami added in. She looked sympathetically at the little girl sitting across from her. She had been shaking ever since Robin dropped the news._

_Robin got up without a word and walked into the galley. The crew could hear the opening and rusting of a desk drawer before she quickly returned with a pen and a piece of paper in hand. She sat back down on the crate she had been occupying, sketched a little doodle, then turned it around to show Lena._

"_Lena-chan, have you ever seen anything that look like these before?" It was a picture of two devil's fruits, one apple-ish and one banana-ish._

"_Wow! Robin-san is so talented!"_

"_Thank you, but please answer the question."_

"_Those are devil fruits. This is the Grand Line; everybody knows what they look like. But I told you I didn't eat one! Hell I've never even met a devil fruit user before!"_

"_Huh?" Luffy, who up until that point had failed to follow the conversation, decided to speak up. He looked confused and just slightly ticked off. "What are you talking about Lena? I showed you my devil fruit power back in your hometown!"_

"_Huh? Did you?"_

"_EH? You don't remember?!"_

"_Memory Loss, remember stupid?" Nami said, softly bonking Luffy's head. It was more of a supplement to the reminder for added effect and less about hurting him._

_Robin was formulating once again. "If you have never seen one, and you don't remember eating one, then as I figured it must have been after you left the beach. Memory loss would make you forget about both after all. But it's just so strange. All evidence leads us to believe that you were deliberately attacked. So why would the attacker also give you a devil's fruit? They're incredibly rare, even more valuable, not to mention they're a huge power-up. It's like giving you superhuman strength, so why would someone who's trying to maul you give you one?"_

_Lena gripped her towel even harder. She was beginning to feel her nails press up against her skin through the cloth. She was undeniably terrified. It was so frustrating!_

* * *

Lena struggled to sit up, and cursed at herself quietly for getting distracted again about what had happened the day before.

"Lena-chan. I'm not going to go easy on you just because you were injured. Get back up." Robin's voice came over stern and firm.

Lena got onto her knees, but was starting to pant hard. Slowly, unsteadily, she placed one solid foot on the ground, and shakily lifted herself up, still panting as she looked to face Robin.

The rest of the Mugiwara crew was surrounding from above the lawn deck, which is where the two were working. This was their first chance to see Lena attempt to tap into her devil fruit's power, a sight nobody wanted to miss.

Chopper was unsure about the safety of this spectacle, considering he had only taken off Lena's bandages that morning, but Robin refused to take no for an answer.

"_We are pirates and this is the Grand Line. We can't afford to have dead weight on the battlefield. Yesterday has shown us that we won't always be there to protect Lena!" Robin's tone showed how serious she was, as if her piercing eyes staring down at the little Reindeer-doctor were not enough._

"_But Robin…Hey Sanji! Luffy! Are you guys OK with this?!" Chopper's retaliation was not proving to be very effective directly against the raven-headed woman._

_Luffy spoke up before Sanji had a chance to._

"_Of course! Don't you want to see Lena's ability too Chopper?"_

"_That's not what I' saying Luffy, I-"_

"_And also, you especially don't want anything to happen to Lena right? Right now she can't even fight. That's no good!"_

_Luffy's logic was astoundingly pristine._

_Chopper could feel himself losing the argument, but he couldn't shake off the feeling of dread that he felt! "I'm her doctor! And as her doctor I really don't think she should be doing this kind of thing right now!"_

"_Choper-chan!" Lena, who had been sitting on the medical bed with her bandages still right to her side, decided she had to speak up._

"_I agree with waraji-captain-san. I want to fight… with all of you!" She looked down at her fist, and clenched it in anticipation. She had on a dangerous grin paired with a dangerous look of determination and plain old guts._

"_Then let's go!" He took Robin and Lena's hands and led them out to the lawn deck, leaving Chopper in the medical center to stare blankly at the door they just walked out of._

The training was just starting, but Lena was already out of breath, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that she had no talent for hand-to-hand combat, which Robin decided to start out with. One kick to the abdomen sent her rolling across the floor.

"An ability user needs to have support from all aspects of the body before it can develop to its full potential. That means a firm mind, a firm will, and a firm body." Robin stood tall and spoke, not moving from her position across from her opponent.

"haah…haahh…"

Lena grimaced, still laboring to regain her posture.

"Right…I'm sorry Robin-san!"

She tried her best to hide it, but it took a lot of effort to lift her head and say that. Regardless she raised her fists and took her best stance.

_I'm the one who told Choper-chan not to worry about me! I don't want anyone to have to worry about me! So I have to stop being so god damn disgraceful right now!_

"Let's keep going!"

Robin liked the look in Lena's eyes as she said that. She liked the anger she saw in them, directed towards her own inadequateness. It took most people a long time to attain such a wise attitude. Robin couldn't help but put on a small smile as Lena charged at her once again. This time however, Robin did not have to command her to do so.

They sparred once again, this time it wasn't decided as quickly. Lena's lack of prior training was borderline embarrassing on her part, her punches were sloppy and her dodging was delayed and awkward. She started off with an attempted punch to the face, which Robin read from a mile away and simply moved one step to the side. Lena was caught off balance and stumbled forward, but immediately caught herself and quickly turned around to face her again. It took her a moment to register what to do next, afterwards which she decided to try to roundhouse kick Robin. But her movements were slow, due to a lack of experience and muscle, and Robin easily dodged it by stepping back. She let Lena's own momentum unsteady her, then placed her first attack; her own roundhouse kick coming from Lena's other side. Robin's le was straighter, faster, and hit a lot harder than Lena's would have. Basically the same result ensued as their other face-off, and Lena hit the ground once again.

"Gah!" She grunted in pain and frustration.

"Oi…is this maybe a little much?" Franky spoke softly to the nakama around him, sitting with their legs dangling over the banisters of the adjacent decks.

But Lena of course, mind her own will, heard him.

"No!" Once again she was struggling to bring herself back onto her knees, but persisting nonetheless. Her muscles were strained, she was sweating a lot, and her arms and legs were beginning to bruise, but she was ferociously determined.

"Please, let's keep going!" She spoke with intensity and passion, and a little louder than she initially intended to.

"Relax." Robin said to her. She walked over and helped Lena up, offering her a hand which Lena accepted in surprise.

"I can still keep going!"

"I'm sure you can, but you're not going to immediately get stronger overnight. Now you know what you need to work on, so let's keep going."

At this point Luffy, Chopper, and Brook all leaped down from the banister. Luffy was wearing his signature comical grin, Brook looked as excited as Lena could surmise, (it was hard to tell when he was all bones,) and Chopper was still a little apprehensive, but ready to help out.

"Lena, from what you have made it sound, right now you are consciously putting a barrier up around your mind, and blocking out your abilities. It might be for the best. It seems that when you are at your weakest points, like when you're unconscious for example, that barrier cracks and the full blunt of your power reaches you, which you obviously can't handle right now. But in order to control your power you have to face it. Right now you're bordering exhaustion…"

Lena pouted when Robin pointed it out. But it was true, everyone's voice was already crystal clear, and her ears were picking up much louder tones than were actually being given off.

"..Whether you like it or not, so your mental blockade should be significantly weaker. This is a perfect opportunity. Break it down yourself."

"Eh?!"

* * *

_Lena__..._

Zoro, sitting above and to the left of Lena, had concern painted all over his face, clear as day.

_What the fuck is that woman playing at?_

He recalled a certain event, one that many of the other crew members also had flashing across through their memories as well. Lena's description of these…voices, was brutal. And nobody but she knew how painstakingly accurate it was. She described her fear, her pain, no, sheer agony, to everyone the night before as well. As you already know it made Sanji very, very upset. Upset that she kept it all to herself. And also mad at himself for not being able to help her sooner. Zoro was just mad at himself again. Mad at himself for not noticing Lena's pain, and mad for not acting on it in the slight moments that he did.

It was funny how similar he was to Lena in ways like that.

"Lena!"

He shouted down at her small form, which had taken one nervous step back and brought her arms close to her chest, clutching her hands together to try to keep them from shaking.

He knew how she was feeling. He knew she despised her own weakness. He knew she lusted to get stronger, like a beast lunging at its prey she was right there! She was the only one getting in her own way. Goddamit he knew that feeling so well!

"If you want to attain more power, then there is no place for fear inside of you. Vanquish it! And become stronger!"

His dark gray eyes were beaming, glaring down at Lena. She could feel the weight of his words, they were bare, but urgent and powerful.

"Zoro…"

She let his message resonate in her head once more, then turned to face the four in front of her.

She stood a little taller, spoke with a little more conviction, and shined with confidence.

"Right. Sorry you guys! I'm being such an annoying handful! Let's keep going!"

Zoro didn't need to show her a huge grin or a standing ovation. He could tell he did what he needed to, and she understood loud and clear. He smirked, just a little, but his satisfaction and pride were overflowing.

Lena, under any other circumstances, probably would have taken the time to thank Zoro, but right now she was too focused. He much preferred to watch her as she was now anyways.

"It's not every day that you get four experienced DF users to help thaw out a fresh one." Franky noted to his companions around him.

Usopp looked down at her and smiled. "Lena's pretty lucky".

"Lucky…or unlucky. I'm kind of worried at the thought of Luffy having his very own disciple." Nami said, with a kind of embarrassed and worried facial expression. Worried for Lena's sake, but embarrassed because Luffy was _their_ captain after all. They all had collective thoughts of Lena being taught to dance horribly with chopsticks stuck up her nostrils sprouting from her lower lip, under Luffy's instruction. In other words, Robin's intervention in this project suddenly became increasingly more imperative.

Robin started up again and jumped right back into their previous pace.

"When I want to make an extra set of hands appear, let's say on Luffy's chest, I think to myself that's where I want the hands to appear, and they do. Such is the power of a devil's fruit, although by now for me it's basically subconscious."

"The same goes for me Lena, but for when I switch into my different body forms." Chopper added in.

"Luffy is probably the same for when he wants his body to stretch. Right, Luffy?"

"Huh? What did you say Chopper?" The lack of direct action was terribly unappealing for Luffy. He had been absent-mindedly picking his nose and examining its contents.

"I said how do you make your body stretch?"

"Huh? What do you mean 'how do I make it?' When I want it to stretch, it stretches!"

Chopper let out an exasperated sigh. "Right. On second thought, I shouldn't have asked the idiot."

He turned back to face Lena. "Anyways, I think you get the point Lena."

"Give it a shot." Said Robin.

"O-OK!"

Lena closed her eyes and let her faced the floor.

_Think huh?_

_I want the noises to come back._

_I want to experience hell again._

_Go ahead._

…

_Hey did you hear me?_

_I ready and willing this time!_

_You can come out now!_

_Jesus Christ you pick now of all times to leave me alone?!_

Robin saw Lena clench her fists and contort her face in frustration. She had never heard of someone having a hard time discovering their devil's fruit, but at the same time she'd never heard of someone forgetting they ate it in the first place. And that key factor being skipped was proving to be a lot more difficult than she could have anticipated. Still nothing was happening.

…

_I guess I have to really mean it._

_From the bottom of my heart._

_Well, fuck._

_I don't want them to come back._

_Go ahead, shoot me._

_Can't there just be some other way?_

_I know I want to get stronger but-_

_Wow_

_I must be a fucking retard._

_I forgot why I'm doing all of this in the first place._

_I got my thinking messed up._

_Ok._

_Let me try this again._

_I just need to think, right Robin-san?_

_I can't be worried about anything else._

_Think about what I need to do._

_I…I, I need to become stronger!_

Lena staggered forward.

The movement was sudden, and after moments of complete silence it shocked everyone.

"Did she…"

"She did it!"

Gasps and smiles erupted from the audience.

But Lena fell to her knees, and clenched her hair. Only she knew how familiar these actions were.

Her head was splitting from the maximum power of the noises. It was as raw as ever.

"Lena-chan!"

Sanji jumped over the banister to come to her rescue, but Robin was already at Lena's side.

"Wait Sanji!" she ordered him. He paused once he hit the grass, surprised and a bit aggravated as to why he couldn't help Lena, but he did as he was told.

"She has to do this on her own!"

So nobody moved. The Mugiwara pirates watched Lena's every move intently. Luffy, Chopper, and Brook were right behind Robin, in case she needed help.

The only sound audible to their ears were Lena's cries of pain. But her audio senses were currently being berated by an overloading magnitude of invisible forces.

"Ugh!" Already on her knees, Lena brought her head to the floor, fingers and toes clenching even harder.

"Lena!"

Robin grabbed her.

"Lena-chan!"

Unsure of what to do, Robin dug her nails into Lena's arms.

"GAH!"

* * *

_This time it was different. Lena's presence remained on the lawn deck of the Sunny Go. _

_She knew what she would see if she opened her eyes, but she couldn't open them. The voices were still as insanely powerful. She was still in crippling pain. But this time she could feel the grass hit her knees._

_And she could feel someone grab hold of her. But she couldn't reach out, couldn't see who it was. She didn't even know they were saying something to her._

_And so having the same rules apply, she felt she sharp pain of something penetrate her skin._

_Maybe the pain itself wasn't amplified, but due to the preexisting sensory overload, that moment was the defining last straw._

_She couldn't take it anymore._

_Her body began searching for an alternative solution for the noises before her mind could respond, and it found one._

_There was no longer an empty abyss of darkness to throw it into._

_There was the lawn deck of the Sunny Go._

"_Shit!"_

"_No wait, please! Don't go out there!"_

* * *

Robin's action was impulsive and very uncharacteristic of her.

As soon as she did it, she was blown back.

The best way to describe it would to be a pulse. It was forceful enough to make the other three lose their footing, and even blew back Nami's hair. The glass in the window panes shook and the grass on the deck was russled by the force.

It came out of nowhere, and made no sound. Yet it seemed to come from Lena. She fell to one side, and her breathing became very shallow. She opened her eyes to see that her vision was very blurry and she was having trouble moving at all.

Nobody said anything.

What was there to say?

Everyone was shocked.

Someone might have shit their pants.

Robin sat up. She was still visibly shaken, but she regained as much composure as she could, and forced herself to stop breathing so fast.

"Usopp," she asked, "Could you please go get the seastone handcuffs from Punk Hazard?"

"Eh? S-sure" Usopp took off running.

"Robin-chan, is it ok if I-"

"Wait until he gets back."

A couple moments later Usopp came back with them in tow. He had already figured out what Robin wanted him to do.

He placed one of the cuffs in Lena's hands, and she immediately exhaled deeply.

She opened her eyes slowly and looked up at Robin, who was stroking her hair, and Sanji, who had just run over.

Robin looked at her sympathetically. "I think that's enough for one day, don't you?"

Lena turned away from her, and gritted her teeth.

"I'm so, so sorry everyone!" She spit out her words in anger and disgust.

Robin pressed Lena's fingers tighter against the handcuffs, which forced her to relax, both physically and mentally. Curios, she weakly looked up at Robin.

"That is seastone." Robin exclaimed. "Just as the name implies, it contains the power of the sea. Usually, for people who have eaten a devil's fruit, it is like a deadly poison. But I think in your case, it just might be the key to your training."

"This is getting really interesting Lena!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly! He was literally bouncing on his toes.

"You did great, Lena-chan!" Sanji took out the seastone and held her hand in his. She looked over to him and was greeted by a warm smile. Even Robin was grinning at her.

The rest of the Mugiwara crew by now was growing restless of the bystander role. (Shocker.) They went down to talk to, some congratulate, Lena.

"Man that was SUPER surprising!"

"You're amazing Lena!"

"what the hell was that, anyways? wind? Lena, you didn't eat the windy-windy fruit, did you"

"Now _that_ would be something to see!"

There laughs, cheers, complaints about said unknown energy; such a bipolar scene was to be expected of such a rambunctious crew.

Only three people, two idiots ad the woman with the raven hair, noticed the sheepish smile and tiny hint of red creep onto a young girl's face.

Honestly the spectacle was becoming a pretty routine one. A crowd formed around Lena, which Chopper then had to break up by claiming that he had to examine her right away! Where he would promptly carry her princess-style back to the clinic, with Zoro and Sanji right on his heels. They were both half-worried, half-proud of her, Sanji, as always, more vocal about it than his green-haired counterpart.

* * *

A tall man turned away from the submarine's built-in binoculars. He jotted down some notes, completing his third full sheet for that day.

"She's progressing beautifully…" He said to himself, smiling profoundly. He couldn't help but adding a small chuckle at the end of it. It was all coming along so perfectly!

**JESUS CHRIST WHO IS THAT? A NEW ANTAGONIST? Well I guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out! Please, once again, I implore you to like/favorite/review!**

**Until next time!**


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